Fly Like It's 1929!

For those of you familiar with EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, WI, you may know about the famous Ford Tri-Motor that offers flights to the public every hour. During my aircraft maintenance program back in college at NMU, our class would travel the 5 hours south to Oshkosh to volunteer at EAA's Weeks Hangar, home of the Ford Tri-Motor. During one particular trip, we got the rare opportunity to replace the left side rotary engine on the organization's 76th 4-AT-E model. Then again, while volunteering for the local EAA chapter back in Phoenix, AZ, I finally had the opportunity to get a ride on this historic aircraft!

Nick-named the "Tin Goose", the Ford Tri-Motor was considered to be the largest civilian aircraft during the early stages of passenger airline travel in the 1930s . As the name would suggest, the transport aircraft is American-made by Henry Ford, with a Pratt & Whitney R985 three-engine type design. Not so revolutionary for it's time, but offering a more safe and advanced structure, the entire aircraft was constructed of all metal.

4-AT-E Model Ford Tri-Motor Specifications

Wing span: 74ft

Overall Length: 49ft 10in

Gross Weight: 10,130lbs

Engines: Pratt & Whitney R985

Fuel Capacity: 234 gallons

Stall Speed: 64 mph

Normal Cruise Speed: 90 mph

Total Range: 500 miles

Production Price: $42,000

Crew: Pilot, Co-Pilot, Stewardess & 8 passengers

With 199 airframes manufactured by Ford from 1926-1933, more than 100 airlines around the world were flying the Tri-Motor. At the time, this aircraft was the first experience of flying for civilians. Or should I say, only about the 6,000 civilians that could actually afford it at that time. A coast-to-coast round-trip flight costed $260 back in the 1930's, which is over $4,000 today! This 15-hour flight wasn't as luxurious as it may seem either. A standard for cabin pressurization and air conditioning were not established until the 1940's. Passengers had the use of oxygen tanks when needed, frequent use of air-sickness bowls at each seat and passenger blankets for the cold temperatures at 13,000 ft.

Regardless of the conditions for flight in the 1930's, the Ford Tri-Motor was the way of the future for passenger airline travel. At the height of its career, the aircraft was even flown by both Charles Lindbergh and Amelia Earhart. Further notable accomplishments include being the first aircraft to fly over the Canadian Rockies, first flight to carry and milk a cow onboard (unbelievably a real thing), and the first flight above the South Pole!

However, with the introduction of Boeing's 247 airframe that began flying in 1933 and low profit sales by that time, Henry Ford began to lose interest in the aviation market and production ceased. But Ford and his group of investors from the Stout Metal Airplane Company played an historically significant role to the civilian airline transportation industry, by contributing concepts and designs like passenger terminals and radio navigation.

Although production stopped in 1933, the airframe continued to fly for small tiered airlines all the way up to the 1960s. By WWII, the airframe experienced conversions into cargo designs and was outfitted for military applications for the war.

Thanks to organizations like the Experimental Aircraft Association, the Ford Tri-Motor lives on and continues to be a part of aviation history. EAA's Tri-Motor can be found participating in just about every major airshow in the U.S. and tickets cost $70 for more than 30 minutes of flight on the world's first luxury airliner. (but if you're more like me, volunteer at the airshow for the day and get a ride for free in order to "fill seats".)

EAA's Ford Tri-Motor 2021 Schedule

Ford Tri-Motor Specifications

This is What it Was Like to Fly in the 1930s article